Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of revising the eligibility rules for free school transport.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s home to school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home to school travel for children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so. There are extended rights to free travel for children from low-income families.
I am keen to understand how well home to school transport supports children to access educational opportunity and will be working with departmental officials on this.